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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - All season long, the University of New Mexico track and field team has been fighting for a chance to be running, jumping and throwing during May and June.

With the NCAA West Regional meet in two weeks and the NCAA Outdoor Championships in less than a month, New Mexico is trying to get into position to compete with the nation's best.

In order to do so, the Lobos will showcase their best athletes at this week's Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships, as they try to qualify for NCAAs and take home the both the men's and women's conference titles.

But like qualifying to the regional meet, winning anything this week is going to take the right combination of skill, preparation and luck. This is good for the Lobos, since this New Mexico team is exceptionally balanced and accomplished and is in contention to take home medaling finishes.

For the men, the talented Lobos jumpers lead the charge into the conference championships. Kendall Spencer, the nation's leading long jumper, paces the group that also features conference leaders Floyd Ross (triple jump) and Django Lovett (high jump) as blue-ribbon candidates.

Another possible source of team points for the cherry and silver is the distance events. Sean Stam, Nicholas Kipruto and Pierre Malherbe are slated to run in both the 5000-meter run and the 10000, while Matt Everett, Logan Rosenberg and Patrick Ortiz will compete in the 5000.

Currently, the Lobo men check in at seventh in the Women's Mountain Region Rankings that was released by the U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association on Tuesday. Similarly, the Lobo women are ranked eighth in the women's version of the same rankings. In the national rankings, the men are ranked 39th and the women are 59th.

The meet kicks off Wednesday, May 9, with the women's heptathlon at noon, and is followed up Thursday with the conclusion of the men's decathlon at noon and the men's hammer throw at 5 p.m. On Friday, the women's hammer opens the day at 10 a.m., with track events starting up at 1 p.m. with the running of the women's steeplechase. The meet's final day, Saturday, starts with the women's shot put at 10:30 a.m. and ends at 4:25 p.m. with the men's 4x400 relay.

Live results are available through the Mountain West's official website. Check both GoLobos.com and TheMWC.com for results and recaps, including a full New Mexico recap Saturday.